Agricultural implement



Jan. 8, 1952 J. L. HlPPLE 2,581,533

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT Filed Aug. 50, 1946 2 Sl-IEETS--SHEET 1 J 1952 J. L. HIPPLE AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENT Filed Aug. 30, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 rg/ PM- NW Patented Jan. 8, 1952 AGRICULTURAL m sr in a Chi c m Ill as iyg p yv winte na on H r e nanma orn rat qn New J ersey Ap cati n .Au stB 1946; ter floefii f'ifif 'l his-invention r tes o a o kin m l merits, and particularly to as bordering andlevel ing; implement adapted to be drawn by, a tractor. Suchtan implementcomprises a frame and a transverse scraping blade adapted to move and quickly, dump-earth to form borders; for irrigation purposes; or tor-remove elevations and fill depresims.

The blade is so-shapedithatearth is accumu lated and is deposited by raisingand tilting the blade.

Anobject of the;present invention isto provide an improved ground .scraperconstruction adapted to bedcfimnectedyto a tractor;-and to derivepower here roml orscn ration- Anot bi ctio h n nt n o. moi ds, animplem nt oi? t e r und a r, type, whichiis adant dl be s v ev l n and. w yrigating, purposes, supporting wheels movable rom: po ition where th y v l n nd which has been Worked by the blade, to a position at theendsof theblade where they trayel upon nwork d roundl Another object of the invention iS tO P TOYide meansfor. locking the wheels in either of their two positions, andmeans accessibleto the op? erator. of the tractor for controllin the action of thewheels, so that the position ofthewheels can bech n ed with ut h a or: h ate v n his seat.

Qtherpbjects and advantages will becometclear rom e o lew ne de a l d, des rip on. hen read in conjunction with the accompanying draw. ings, V wherein: K

F s a i w. n: side lev on. ow n he rear. end of: a, tractor with a .bow1 -type scraper embodying the features of the, present, invention attached thereto;

E e-zt sap ent iewl o he. st uc ure hpw fi Rige E H-B' s ad tai o he lockin m chan sm-for h upport n wh els; n

, Fig; Lisa section taken on the'line. 4+4 of Figure, 2.

' Referring-to the drawingsit will-be noted that the implement ofy the presentinvention comprises aetransversely extending rectangular frame in di ated; by-the umera and cludi ront nd -rear framebars, l l and. 'ZJBSPQGtivelY; nd side bars 13.

Secured? to the frame to; and" extending forwardly: therefrom isadraftstructure l4, triangularlyshaped; comprising? right-l and lefthand bars I5 and I6, respectively, secured at their rear ends; to the; frame; at; the; forward EjQlaims (Cl, Eiff l-169') corners thereof The bars, [5 and 1 IB -extend tot-1 wardly in convergin relation andare secured at their forwardends to the sides of a draftn ember lfLwhich extendsrearwardly and forwardly and is securedat itsrear end to the front framehar H. Additional bracing is provided on t'hefront frame bar ll byplates lasecured to member If! and. at the juncture of thebars l51and, [6; by. plates. l9. l

The forwardly extending end of the draft mem er l pro i e l th v o p or vo a cpnnection toa vertically extending pin. 2 I car-e ried by the draft bar 2,72 ofa tractor 2 3. 'Ijractor li smiq d d wi h, rea he l amen p: erators station 25.

N ar r rd d Qt t e e ar Band adjacentthe,front fljam wbar H; are provided; a Pair o b a n s 261 wh ch erve 9. Support he ndso ara 'sverse y extend ng r kr ha t 2 u por ed ent a r y ear n s arried: y front mme tb r l.- toc r ha 21, unct ons s h un ort o hawlr n scrape arr d w h in the rectangular frarne l0 and; comprisin side v nd'wausan ec redat, h ir wa d: n s o he onhaft and ear l ihe n l a cuate ha e an n pr sin b de 32 hav n tslm r dee h e d h P imof penetrating the soil. An additionalbrace 31a sin ev ded tor o nec i he ee h o e r nnin porti n g h a W l 1 Th l a'd 2 reinforced by barsl3 3tprovidedat spaced locaions h rea onau he, ean ll t h c er bowl; extends transversely of the machine and connects the rear ends of-the side walls 30, At his pintit hQlllQL arihet ce thescraper bowl 2-9' is aflixed by its endwalls to the; trans e se-r pia ha t lh iq n i h shaft l a se eneral; e tical ng 0f h bowland from a dumping or transport; position Bedtime of; h s tgfl t win he owl; accomplished by. amechanism including a hydrauli cylinder and piston unit indicated at 34 anddncluding a cylinder 35 Apivotedat36 upon lugs, secured tothe draft member or tongue I1, Cylinder 3 5,is,providedwith a piston rod; 38 whichist pivotally connected tothe upper end o f a rock-arm; 39 which i n turn is pivoted upon a lug llLsecured tothe upper plate [9. Rock-warm 39. is; connected;- by an adjustable. rod 4 I, to the upperiend of an arm, mounted upon therocke shaft 2;! centrally tlriereof Arm, l-ZisDlQvided atlits upper endwith a; plurality of apertures 43 fonconnection ithered 4 thereto toiprovide for more or; less rapid swinging of the bowl 2? be: ween quarantine; and dam ing: we hs Each of the side frame bars I 3 is provided with a rearward extension 44 and a pair of bearings 45 are mounted thereupon adjacent the rear frame bar l2 to provide for the pivotal mounting upon a vertical axis of an axle 46 which extends parallel to the side frame bars 13 and is provided with a vertical axle portion 41 rotatably received in the bearings 45, so that the axle may be swung forwardly and rearwardly in an arc of approximately 180. Each of the frame bars i3 is channel shaped, and when the axle 46 has been swun forwardly or rearwardly to an extreme position, it rests snugly against the vertical wall of the channel member. "Each axle 46 is curved in wardly and has journaled upon the end thereof a supporting wheel 48.

It will now be observed that the wheel-support ing axle 45, being pivoted upon a vertical axis, may be swung to vary the position of the wheel 48 from one in which it is rearwardly of the frame and laterally inwardly of the ends of the scraper bowl, as viewed in solid lines in Fig. 2, to a position where the wheel is laterally outwardly ofthe rectangular frame I and in general transverse alinement with the scraper bowl 29. This latter position is indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2. The latter position of the wheel 48 is preferred when the implement is used for irrigating purposes, that is, when borders are being formed, so that the wheels will travel at the sides 'of the bowl and not in trailing relation thereto.

When usingthe scraper for leveling purposes, it is preferable that the wheels assume the solid line position and travel to the rear of the scraper bowl.

In order to facilitate the change of the position of the wheel from the rear of the bowl to the side thereof, releasable latching mechanism is provided for each of the wheel units and control means is provided within easy reach of the operator of the tractor from his station thereon.

This latching mechanism comprises a pair of bell-cranks 49 and 50, bell-crank 49 being pivoted at upon the inner face of the side frame bar [3 at the rear end thereof and bell-crank 55 being pivoted at 52 upon the bar l3 on the opposite sides of the bearings from the position of the bell-crank 49. Bell-crank 49 is provided with another arm 53 which extends rearwardly and functions as a latching member cooperating with a latching element 54 which is provided on one side of axle 46 and passes through an opening 54a provided in the side bar l3. The engagement of the latching element 54 with the bellcrank arm 53 prevents the outward swinging of the axle 45 carrying the wheel 48. A similar latching element 55 isprovided on the side of the axle 46 opposite the latching element 54 and functions when the wheel has been swung to the dotted line position in Fig. 2 as a latching member passing through an opening 55a in side bar I3 and cooperatingwith an arm 56 of the bellcrank 5|] to. hold the axle and its wheel from swinging. out of position. In either position of the wheel, the latching mechanism may be released by rocking the bell-cranks 49 and in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figs. 1 and 3. These bell-cranks may be rocked simultaneously and for this purpose are connected by a link 51. The latches are released from their locking position with the wheel axle 46, topermit it to be moved to its other position, by means of a cable 58 connected to the upper end of the bell-crank 50. Cable 53 extends forwardly parallel to the side bar l3, and the cable on each side of the frame is passed through an eye 59 secured adjacent the forward end of the bar 13 and extends forwardly and laterally, the cables on opposite ends of the implement paralleling the draft frame bars l5 and [6. The forward ends of the cables are passed through eyes 60 provided at the upper end and on opposite sides of the rock-arm 39 and are connected to the operators seat 25 of the tractor. Without moving from his seat on the tractor, the tractor operator is able to change the position of his wheels 48, at will, by manipulating the cables 58 to rock the bell cranks 49 and 54 forwardly and release the latchirig elements 54 and 55 carried by the axle 46. The forward rocking of the bell cranks is limited by a stop 6i secured to the forward edge of the bell-crank 58 and rearward rocking thereof is limited by a stop 52 secured to the rear edge of the crank, said stops being adapted to engage the upper edge of the side bar l3. The bellcranks are biased to engaged position with the operating latch by means Of a spring 63 connected at one end to the bell-crank 5i! and at its other end to the link 51. Likewise when the wheel 48 is swung from one position to another, the flexibility of the spring 63 permitsthe bell-cranks to rock upon engagement of the latching element 54 or 55 therewith. When the wheel 48 is in the dotted line position shown in Figure 2, it may be readily changed to the solid line position therein shown by the operator grasping the cables 58 and releasing the latching mechanism to permit the axle and the wheel to swing outwardly and reversely. To bring the wheel 48 from the solid line to the dotted line position as shown in Figure 2, the operator needs onl to release the latches and move forwardly a short distance to permit the wheels to swing outwardly, whereupon he may reverse his direction until the Wheel have been locked'in their dotted line position.

The operation of the bowl-type scraper with which the present invention is concerned should be clear from the foregoing description. Power for vertical swinging of the scraper bowl to transport position or to dump the dirt accumulated therein is provided by the hydraulic cylinder unit 34 which is a cylinder of the double-acting type. The cylinder is provided with fluid under pressure through conduits B4 and 65 from the tractor 23 and the operation thereof is under control of the tractor operator from his station 25.

Having described the invention, it should be understood that modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. An earth working implement adapted to be drawn by a tractor or the like comprising a transverse frame, a tool carried by the frame, an arm pivoted on a vertical axis at each'end of the frame and extending rearwardly therefrom, a wheel journaled on the end of said arm, said arm being swingable about its pivot to move said wheel from a position rearwardly of the frame to a position alongside the frame, latching mechanism carried by the frame at opposite sides of said pivot, latching means on the arm cooperable with each of the latching mechanisms on the frame to .lock the wheel in either of its positions, and means accessible to the tractor operator for releasing said latching mechanism in either position of the wheel.

2. An earth working implement'adapted to be drawn by a tractor or the like comprising a transverse frame, a tool carried by the frame, an arm pivoted on a vertical axis at each end of the frame and extendin rearwardly therefrom, a wheel journaled onthe end of said arm, said arm being swingable about its pivot to move said wheel from a position rearwardly of the frame to a position alongside the frame, latching mechanism carried by the frame at opposite sides of said pivot, latching means on the arm cooperable with each of the latching mechanisms on the frame to lock the wheel in either of its positions, a latch release lever for each latch means, release means for each latch means accessible to the tractor operator connected to one said latch release lever, and connecting means between said release levers for simultaneously releasing both said latch means.

3. An earth working implement adapted to be drawn by a tractor or the like comprising a transverse frame, a tool carried by the frame, an arm pivoted on a vertical axis at each end of the frame and extending rearwardly therefrom, a wheel journaled on the end of said arm, said arm being swingable about its pivot to move said wheel from a position rearwardly of the frame to a position alongside the frame, latching mechanism carried by the frame at opposite sides of said pivot, latchin means on the arm cooperable with each of the latching mechanisms on the frame to lock the wheel in either of its positions, a latch release lever for each latch means, release means for each latch means accessible to the tractor operator connected to one said latch release lever, and connecting means between said release levers for simultaneously releasing both said latch means, and spring means biasing said latch means to latching position.

4. A tractor drawn bowl type ground scraper or the like, comprising a transversely extending rectangular frame having front, rear and side bars, a triangular draft structure extending forwardly from theframe for attachment to a tractor, a wheel-carrying axle pivotally connected to the rear portion of each said side bar for swinging movement about a vertical axis from a position with the wheel in the rear of the frame to a position with the wheel alongside the frame, latching means for holding said wheel axle in either of its positions, a scraper bowl carried by said frame, a lever for releasing the latching means for each said wheel, guide means at the forward corners of the frame and adjacent said movable means, and a cable connected to each said lever and extending through said guide means to a location accessible to the tractor operator for releasing said latching means.

5. A tractor drawn bowl type ground scraper or the like, comprising a transversely extending rectangular frame having front, rear and side bars, a triangular draft structure extending forwadly from the frame for attachment to a tractor, a wheel-carrying axle pivotally connected to the rear portion of each said side bar for swinging movement about a vertical axis from a position with the wheel in the rear of the frame to a position with the Wheel alongside the frame, latching mechanism carried by the frame on each side of said pivot, latch means on the axle cooperable with either said latching mechanism to hold the wheel in either of its positions, a release lever for each said latching mechanism, a link connecting said levers for simultaneous operation, a scraper bowl carried by said frame, uide means on the frame and on said movable means, and a cable connected to one said release lever and extending through said guide means to a location accessible to the tractor operator for releasing said latch means.

JAMES L. HIPPLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 190,460 Wilson May 8, 1877 413,157 Westervelt Oct. 15, 1889 878,283 Fink Feb. 4, 1908 1,246,895 Elliott Nov. 20, 1917 1,822,051 Lytle Sept. 8, 1931 1,858,214 Weeks May 10, 1932 2,208,526 Gurries July 16, 1940 2,257,596 Davenport Sept. 30, 1941 2,351,830 Mitchell et a1. June 20, 1944 2,441,744 Barker May 18, 1948 2,473,786 Collins June 21, 1949 

